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4 minutes ago, Zlinedavid said:

Issue with nukes is the costs are so high to build due to the engineering requirements that they can be hard to operate profitably. Not sure if anyone keeps up with Ohio news, but that's what's at the core of the corruption behind House Bill 6. Certain generators can't operate their nuke plants profitably because power prices are relatively low at the moment and their sunk costs are so high. 

Found an article in Columbus News. Householder sounds like a douchebag.

How is the bridge project between Cincy and Florence going?

 You know, the one that recently got set on fire because of a tanker accident.  

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52 minutes ago, mrflynn03 said:

Found an article in Columbus News. Householder sounds like a douchebag.

How is the bridge project between Cincy and Florence going?

 You know, the one that recently got set on fire because of a tanker accident.  

Reopened December 20th. Was only surface level damage. Bridge traffic is annoying enough, that made it miserable. 

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9 hours ago, Zlinedavid said:

Also a big Hyundai/Kia fan. I put a combined 375K on a 2007 and a 2011 Santa Fe. No major issues with either one. I wound up selling the 2011 for parts when the flywheel broke, and gave the 2007 to a guy for helping me move recently. 

I like the look of the Telluride/Palisade, but I finally relented and bought a "truck". I haul quite a bit of lumber/mulch/etc and got tired of folding seats and having to clean the interior out so much. The only thing that kept me from buying a truck earlier is fuel. I've got a 40 mile round trip commute (or had anyway) and don't want to pay for gas on a V8 for that amount of driving. Plus, I don't tow anything. 

So, I bought a 2019 Honda Ridgeline....hence the parentheses in "truck". It's basically a Pilot with the back cargo roof cut off. But, it's the only midsize pickup that can lay a 4x8 sheet of plywood flat, and gets about 23mpg. Is it going to win any off-road competitions? Nope. But, it does exactly what I need it to do. 

Also, if you ever get the chance, the Honda Pre-owned Certified Plus warranty is fantastic. I bought the truck with 9000 miles on it, and it came with a factory 5 year, 75K mile bumper to bumper warranty and 100K power train warranty. That's actually better than Honda's new car warranty. 

Welcome to the mid size truck world! I love my Canyon. I looked at the Ridgeline.. but preferred the GMC. Just hope mine proves as reliable as the Honda

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I am not the big car guy but Ayden loves the classics for sure.  I have a 64 1/2 Mustang at my Moms that has not been touched since I left for College in 92. Soon Ayden and I will hopefully start the restoration process. 

We do have a 97 Jeep Wrangler that we take for Sunday drives through the country side whenever weather is nice, best source of therapy there is. 

I saw some Kia live earlier in this thread.  We have had 5 and I highly recommend them. We drove our Sedona to 370K and it needed about 1500 in repairs and I decided it was just time to retire her. She was the van we brought Ayden home in and make 3 trips a year to Atlanta for Aydens Dr appointments.  We kept the drivers side door as a decoration.  

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Interesting convo about energy.

I think it's always important to remember that no energy source is 100% perfect. All will have their downsides. New energy needs a chance to evolve as technology develops.

I think experimentation and innovation are a good thing. We get caught up in 'what's the best right now', but I think we need to be of the mindset that one or a few of these can developed further and  lead to a better future. 

For example, I've mentioned before that I geek out on science podcasts. I gravitate towards those that a 'futurist' in nature. In regards to energy, most scientist believe that we'll eventually be able to harness the sun's energy. When that day comes the entire planet will be powered at no cost. There was a figure that went something like: if we could harness one millionth of ONE sun ray's energy we could power the entire planet for 1,000 years. If technology and investment in solar leads to this then I think it's important to let innovation develop. It's counter-productive and rather obtuse to say solar (or any energy source: wind, nuclear, natural gas, etc.) is not the answer because, at the moment, it's not as powerful, safe, reliable, takes up too much land, kills birds, etc. We are in the infancy of sustainable/clean energy, there's no telling where any of these industries will go or what they can lead to. The cream will eventually rise to the top. 

 

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2 hours ago, tdhoosier said:

Interesting convo about energy.

I think it's always important to remember that no energy source is 100% perfect. All will have their downsides. New energy needs a chance to evolve as technology develops.

I think experimentation and innovation are a good thing. We get caught up in 'what's the best right now', but I think we need to be of the mindset that one or a few of these can developed further and  lead to a better future. 

For example, I've mentioned before that I geek out on science podcasts. I gravitate towards those that a 'futurist' in nature. In regards to energy, most scientist believe that we'll eventually be able to harness the sun's energy. When that day comes the entire planet will be powered at no cost. There was a figure that went something like: if we could harness one millionth of ONE sun ray's energy we could power the entire planet for 1,000 years. If technology and investment in solar leads to this then I think it's important to let innovation develop. It's counter-productive and rather obtuse to say solar (or any energy source: wind, nuclear, natural gas, etc.) is not the answer because, at the moment, it's not as powerful, safe, reliable, takes up too much land, kills birds, etc. We are in the infancy of sustainable/clean energy, there's no telling where any of these industries will go or what they can lead to. The cream will eventually rise to the top. 

 

Japan, China and Asia in general have been moving ahead of the game in solar. The worlds largest floating solar plants, and India is getting into it now. China and Japan are 1 and 2 in overall installed solar capacity, and now you're getting floating solar linked to  hydroelectric plants. Since the 2015 Paris Agreement solar farm building has surged worldwide, and Germany at times has met 50% of its daily energy useage through solar. The technology, PV and CSP, has been around but think it's pretty clear now it, along with other clean, renewable energy, is taking off.

Japan’s Yamakura plant is made up of almost 60,000 solar panels

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3 hours ago, Hoosierhoopster said:

Japan, China and Asia in general have been moving ahead of the game in solar. The worlds largest floating solar plants, and India is getting into it now. China and Japan are 1 and 2 in overall installed solar capacity, and now you're getting floating solar linked to  hydroelectric plants. Since the 2015 Paris Agreement solar farm building has surged worldwide, and Germany at times has met 50% of its daily energy useage through solar. The technology, PV and CSP, has been around but think it's pretty clear now it, along with other clean, renewable energy, is taking off.

Japan’s Yamakura plant is made up of almost 60,000 solar panels

The US is jumping into the floating solar game.  There are floating solar arrays online in New Jersey, California and Texas, and around September/October of last year that Duke announced they were contracted to build another large floating solar array in North Carolina on a lake located on the grounds of Fort Bragg.

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7 hours ago, tdhoosier said:

When that day comes the entire planet will be powered at no cost.

So the people who create the technology to transfer the suns energy into usable electricity will just give it away to all of us? If that is where this all leads, why would they every invest the effort, to jsut give their effort way. Heck, maybe we could just give away all earth digging equipment now? Ya know, trim 100 years off of this "no cost" thing. Just a thought.

Unless you mean they will give it all way because it just the right thing to do.. Heck, sign me up. Anyone need some cars and a house? I feel you need it.  

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39 minutes ago, Joe_Hoopsier said:

So the people who create the technology to transfer the suns energy into usable electricity will just give it away to all of us? If that is where this all leads, why would they every invest the effort, to jsut give their effort way. Heck, maybe we could just give away all earth digging equipment now? Ya know, trim 100 years off of this "no cost" thing. Just a thought.

Unless you mean they will give it all way because it just the right thing to do.. Heck, sign me up. Anyone need some cars and a house? I feel you need it.  

Again, it’s all theoretical and way, way off in the future. That said, the energy would be limitless, like the air we breathe. Sooner or later the investments would be paid off - there’d be be no costs for mining, or fracking or materials, etc. It’d be like charging for the World Wide Web. 

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About energy, I took an Aquatic biology class in college.  According to my professor hydroelectric dams all over the Ohio River. There is a series of locks and dams from Huntington, WV to Evansville, IN. 

They are functional and could easily provide energy to the Ohio Valley region.  But politics and lobbyists keep it from happening.  

Also, the Ohio river is one class larger than the Mississippi at their convergence.  So, the Mississippi river should be the Ohio all the way down to the gulf.  

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3 minutes ago, mrflynn03 said:

About energy, I took an Aquatic biology class in college.  According to my professor hydroelectric dams all over the Ohio River. There is a series of locks and dams from Huntington, WV to Evansville, IN. 

They are functional and could easily provide energy to the Ohio Valley region.  But politics and lobbyists keep it from happening.  

Also, the Ohio river is one class larger than the Mississippi at their convergence.  So, the Mississippi river should be the Ohio all the way down to the gulf.  

But Mississippi is more fun to say and spell. Did they cover anything about using the tide for energy? Was always wondering why we can’t harness that. 

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3 minutes ago, tdhoosier said:

But Mississippi is more fun to say and spell. Did they cover anything about using the tide for energy? Was always wondering why we can’t harness that. 

Haha, for sure. 

Been a awhile so dont remember.  All I remember is rivers are a cheap and efficient source of energy.  Solar is the same but takes more space. 

But using the tide for energy is interesting, and you can time the tide.  

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16 hours ago, tdhoosier said:

But Mississippi is more fun to say and spell. Did they cover anything about using the tide for energy? Was always wondering why we can’t harness that. 

Variances in direction of the water flow and sea levels, plus a less consistent flow.  Tides are back and forth, back and forth very, very quickly.  For generation, one consistent direction is needed to generate power.  IE: Windmills.  They can spin either direction, but to make consistent power, they need to be spinning in one direction for a duration. 

Not to mention the tide levels vary.  Even if there was some kind of device that could harness the tide's energy, there would also need to be something that would allow it to move to remain with the tide's level as it comes in and out.  That's going to make it difficult to retrieve the power and distribute it, even if it could be generated. 

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2 hours ago, Hoosierhoopster said:

It’s really cool how all of this relates to cars and trucks 

😁

It kinda does though. 

My stepdad experimented with biodiesel and hydrogen fuel cells with some success.  We worked on it together.  

He was a high school dropout, got his GED, went on to community college at VU in the 80's for computer technology.  Worked in coal mines and is now Senior Electrician at IPL.  

Best thing he ever did for me was buy me a 155 peice toolset and give me a Chilton manual.  Been fixing everything myself since I was 15. 

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22 hours ago, Reacher said:

Can't believe I'm posting this (contributing to the energy derailment) but there is a direct link to electric vehicles. I guess you could argue Tesla is contributing to the destabilization of Congo. 

https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/electric-vehicle-push-sends-cobalt-prices-higher

Not saying that the destabilization of Congo doesn't matter because it does. However, I do find interesting the critical narrative of batteries: "they are not as green as you may think." It's true but it it still is better overall than gas powered engines. When you look at the alternative of gas powered engines, there are many factors to weigh. Look what oil did to the destabilization of the middle east and it's not like manufacturing emissions are non-existent for gas powered vehicles, let alone the emissions expelled in their daily use.

It's important to look at the big picture, which is that battery powered vehicles are much cleaner overall in their life cycle (including manufacturing). I've read they are at least 1/3 cleaner and pay off their higher manufacturing emissions in 2 years compared to a normal gas powered car.  However at the same time, we can still press companies like Tesla to do a better job. To their credit, at least efforts are being made: solar powered factories, recycling programs, reusing batteries, etc.  

All said, and in parallel to my point above, no energy source is going to be 100% perfect. I just think it's important to continue to let innovation and technology develop if it's better than the current norm. As long as the path leads to energy that is more sustainable, cleaner and cheaper. On the flip side, we need to stop subsidizing industries that have no economical future; it's the equivalent to investing in telephones that plug into the wall. The world moves at a speed that sometimes makes certain industries dispensable, when this happens you need to let them die on their own and make room for the better alternative. Coal and oil will soon be the Blockbuster Video of the energy sector.

 

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O&G will be around as fuel for a long time, Blockbuster Video (which I miss) was replaceable quickly. But agree it’s going away and should in the big picture over time, it’s not sustainable and it’s killing the environment, that’s clear. So which or how many of the alternatives will survive and take off? Probably a mix but fuel cells / battery powered vehicles are about to boom. Tesla was the real beginning, but the heavy hitters are now investing and starting to produce heavily, will Tesla hold its own as GM, Ford et al come in heavily? Doubt it, economies of scale are against Tesla but it does have infrastructure and consumer confidence early

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20 minutes ago, Hoosierhoopster said:

O&G will be around as fuel for a long time, Blockbuster Video (which I miss) was replaceable quickly. But agree it’s going away and should in the big picture over time, it’s not sustainable and it’s killing the environment, that’s clear. So which or how many of the alternatives will survive and take off? Probably a mix but fuel cells / battery powered vehicles are about to boom. Tesla was the real beginning, but the heavy hitters are now investing and starting to produce heavily, will Tesla hold its own as GM, Ford et al come in heavily? Doubt it, economies of scale are against Tesla but it does have infrastructure and consumer confidence early

Definitely true, but my main point being that we shouldn't be subsidizing these industries. It won't be overnight, but as electric car production increases and oil demand/prices go down, they'll be grasping at and dispensing any spun narrative to discredit these new technologies. Do they really want to talk about the pillaging of natural resources and pollution? It's all a diversion to try and slow innovation in their financial interests. 

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45 minutes ago, tdhoosier said:

Definitely true, but my main point being that we shouldn't be subsidizing these industries. It won't be overnight, but as electric car production increases and oil demand/prices go down, they'll be grasping at and dispensing any spun narrative to discredit these new technologies. Do they really want to talk about the pillaging of natural resources and pollution? It's all a diversion to try and slow innovation in their financial interests. 

That's pretty dismissive of the fact that roughly 60% of the worlds cobalt is coming from a very unstable Congo.  

I'm not sure but I hope these companies are helping these countries more than hurting.  

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6 minutes ago, NotIThatLives said:

That's pretty dismissive of the fact that roughly 60% of the worlds cobalt is coming from a very unstable Congo.  

I'm not sure but I hope these companies are helping these countries more than hurting.  

I wasn't being dismissive. Read my post 2 above that one. 

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2 minutes ago, NotIThatLives said:

This is what I took as dismissive.  "they'll be grasping at and dispensing any spun narrative to discredit these new technologies"

Any quick research of what's up in Congo is alarming.  

Maybe I should've been more clear, spun in the sense of criticizing the overall emissions of electric cars. I do believe that oil companies have no place for moral superiority regarding the Congo though. 

And you aren't looking at the post I made prior to the one you are quoting. I said:

"Not saying that the destabilization of Congo doesn't matter because it does."

"However at the same time, we can still press companies like Tesla to do a better job."

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